An Upbeat Week Down Under
The Ensemble performs four Concerts at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 Festival
NEXUS, the Toronto-based percussion group, is now in its 35th year of performances in solo recitals and with symphony orchestras worldwide. From March 11 through 19, 2006 the ensemble participated in the Melbourne Arts Festival associated with that city’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games. It was the group’s third visit to Australia. The full week of NEXUS activities included the following events:
Concerts
NEXUS presented three afternoon promenade concerts at the Alexandra Gardens Soundshell festival site on March 16, 17, and 18. The concerts were free to the public and were each attended by hundreds of local listeners and international travelers visiting Melbourne to see the Commonwealth Games.
Percussion WorkshopsFrom March 13 through 17 NEXUS presented a series of workshops for a gathering of young percussionists and percussion teachers from all over Australia. The topics included ‘Creative Music Making,’ ‘West African Drumming,’ ‘The Music of Steve Reich,’ ‘Ancient Military Drumming,’ and ‘Acoustics – Pitch and Rhythm.’
‘All Star World Percussion Spectacular’ ConcertOn March 19 NEXUS joined with other visiting artists from Canada, England, India, Trinidad, Ghana, and Australia in a grand finale concert attended by over 12,000 enthusiastic listeners in the Sidney Myer Music Bowl amphitheatre. Also performing on the program were all of the young Australian workshop percussionists who had rehearsed with the artists during the preceding week.
all photos by Rick Kvistad
